Preparing for End of Tenancy Cleaning: A Room-by-Room Plan

Decide which furniture will leave before cleaning and which pieces will remain. Give the cleaner that information when booking, so an appointment for empty rooms is not planned around furniture that will still cover the floors.

Tell the company if movers will be carrying items through the home during the visit. The hall and stairs may still be busy, and dirt can be brought back through rooms that have already been cleaned.

Ask when outstanding repairs or decorating will finish before choosing the cleaning date. Newly completed work can leave dust or have its own care instructions, so explain the remaining jobs instead of describing every room as ready.

Say if a bedroom, kitchen or home office will remain in use while other rooms are empty. Explain when it will be free and discuss the order, rather than assuming the whole property must be cleared together.

Ask how to prepare each appliance before choosing the cleaning date. Make plans for food in the fridge and remove stored pans from the oven. Check when an oven must stop being used so it is ready for cleaning.

Update the company promptly if removals, key collection or room availability change. Check the revised appointment rather than relying on an earlier message that described a different move, particularly when someone else is arranging the keys.

Empty the particular cupboards and drawers you want cleaned inside. Keep items you are retaining together somewhere outside those units, so the cleaner can wipe the interiors without choosing how to sort or repack your kitchen contents.

Plan where food will go before an inside-fridge clean. You should decide what to keep or remove and ask about appliance preparation, rather than leaving the cleaner to make disposal decisions on your moving day.

Take clothes and personal items out of any wardrobe interiors included in the appointment. If only the outside doors need wiping, say so and leave the contents inside, with private drawers and storage clearly left out.

Pack personal paperwork, jewellery and other small valuables before the rooms are cleaned. Put aside anything needed for the move so it is not mixed with the belongings you are removing from desks, bedside tables or shelves.

Arrange the removal of unwanted furniture, boxes and rubbish separately. Show anything that will remain in the property, because a cleaning appointment is not the same job as taking away a bed or clearing a garage full of possessions.

Check with the owner before moving or discarding their supplies, ornaments or furniture. Tell the cleaner which items will stay and which must remain untouched, so the visit does not depend on guessing who owns each possession.

Ask about carpet cleaning separately from ordinary vacuuming. Give the rooms and approximate dimensions, explain which furniture will remain and share the carpet material if known, so the additional treatment can be priced for the right areas.

Photograph the marks that concern you before booking extra treatment. Tell the company what you know about them and any products already used, rather than applying another cleaner immediately before an appointment that has not yet been discussed.

List upholstered items one by one and send their care labels where available. A furnished-room clean and a fabric treatment are different jobs, so specify the sofa, chairs or cushions you want included instead of relying on the room name.

Ask separately about curtains, blinds or other fabric coverings that you want cleaned. Give their material and position before arranging any removal, and check who would handle taking them down or putting them back if that is needed.

Include the inside windows and glazed doors you want cleaned, including extra internal-door panels. If there is a lot of glass, send pictures and approximate dimensions so its cleaning is considered alongside the rest of the rooms.

Request outside panes separately and show the ground, roof or extension below them. Cleaning inside a room does not explain how its outside glass can be reached, particularly in a flat or above a conservatory.